Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) has given readings from his recently published memoir, "Help Me to a Getaway," at the following places: The Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, Ireland (May 7); The Galway City Museum, Galway, Ireland (May 15); and the Locke Bar Theatre, Limerick, Ireland (June 3).

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poem "Doing Nothing at All" published in "Prairie Fire," Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 2010, p. 112.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poem "Use" published in "The Christian Science Monitor" on March 23.

Oliver de la Paz, an associate professor of English at Western Washington University, will read from "Requiem for the Orchard," his newest poetry book, at 7 p.m. today, April 12, at Village Books in Fairhaven.

A father of one (soon to be two), de la Paz wrote a lot about fatherhood in his latest collection.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard appeared on TVW Thursday evening on the show "Inside Olympia." Shepard recently was interviewed by host Austin Jenkins for the show.

In addition, Bill Lyne, a professor of English at WWU, also was interviewed for another segment in the same program for his role as a faculty member and as the president of the United Faculty of Washington State. A third guest on the show is Mike Bogatay, from the Washington Student Association.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poems "A Mail-Order Bride" and "The Power of Prayer" published in "The SHOp: A Magazine of Poetry," No. 32, Spring 2010, pp. 25 and 36.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) has had his memoir "Help Me to a Getaway" published by Salmon Poetry.

About the book:

Western Washington University has joined with the Pickford Film Center and KVOS TV-12 to provide a new, locally flavored show titled "The Pickford Classic Movie."

WWU English Professor Kaveh Askari will join Michael Falter, program director of Pickford Film Center, each week to provide trivia, little-known facts, interesting back story and conversation about a different classic film throughout the filmʼs airing.

The program will air at 8 p.m. on Sundays on KVOS TV channel 12.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poems "The Two of Us," "A Great Change" and "Yellow Beer" published in "Staple," No. 72, Winter 2009 and Spring 2010, pp. 146-148.

Oliver de la Paz is a winner, plain and simple. Want proof? Well, there’s the $1,500 GAP Grant he was awarded last year from Artist Trust, which supports artist-generated projects in Washington.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poems "Something in the Grass," "Today and Tomorrow" and "Routines" published in Ambit Magazine, Vol. 199, pp. 94-95.

William Smith (English) is the subject of a research article in the December 2009 issue of "College Communication and Composition," a peer-reviewed journal. The article, "Close to the Heart: Teacher Authority in a Classroom Community," has another Western connection: It was written by a team of WWU students in an English graduate seminar.

Christopher Wise (English) is editor of a new book scheduled to be released on Dec. 15.

The book includes an essay by WWU graduate student Matt Atwood, who graduated with his M.A. in English last year. Atwood wrote the essay on Azmi Bishara for an independent study he took from Wise.

The book also includes an essay from former WWU faculty member Fallou Ngom, a faculty member at WWU when the project was first started who then took a job at Boston University.

Hundreds of new children's and young adult books will be on sale at WWU in the upcoming Children's Literature Book Sale sponsored by the English Department.

The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 4 in Wilson Library Room 171. The room is accessible from High Street.

Hundreds of new children's and young adult books will be on sale at WWU in the upcoming Children's Literature Book Sale sponsored by the English Department.

The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 4 in Wilson Library Room 171. The room is accessible from High Street.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) has had his poem "Green Light" published in "The Stony Thursday Book," from The Arts Office of Limerick City Council. New Series No. 8, 2009, p. 30.

Christopher Wise (English) had an essay recently published titled "The Novel, Historiography, and the Griot Epic in the Sahel" in Gaurav Desai's book "Teaching the African Novel" (New York: MLA, 2009): pp. 154-175. This book is a volume in the Modern Language Association's "Options for Teaching" series.